In two years, passengers and visitors at Chennai Egmore railway station will geta first-hand lounge experience apart from an opportunity to shop while travelling, like in airports, as the Southern Railwaykicks off work next week to redevelop the station using a design in sync with the existing heritage building. The ₹760 crore project is likely to be among a bouquet of projects Prime minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurated next week.
Two four-story station buildings – one on Gandhi Irwin Road, adjacent to the heritage building where the existing foot overbridge lands and another on Poonamallee high roadside – will be built linking them through elevated arrival and departure corridors.
The corridors will be200 feet long and 120 feet wide. The station will also get two multi-level car parking buildings that will also accommodate budget hotels. After inspecting Egmore railway station on Thursday, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnawsaid, “Chennai Egmore will be redeveloped duly maintaining its heritage and simultaneously revamping its amenities at par with world-class standards.
On redevelopment, the station will become the hub of economic activity. ”As the biggest station building will be on the thePoonamallee high road, the existing building that houses the reservation office is likely to be demolished and a new building will be built for housing the reservation and commercial office of railways. The redevelopment will offer bright illumination and hassle-free access to platforms through escalators, lifts and skywalks and also make the facility accessible for the disabled populace.
The redevelopment project is being carried out to meet the increasing traffic volume at the station, which is projected to rise further in the next four decades, transforming it into a multimodal hub for suburban, long-distance trains, metro rail, and buses, said a railway official.
The work will be awarded to a private company which will also operate the facilities for fiveyears.
